A federal judge ruled Tuesday that Newark does not need to hand out more water filters, denying an emergency motion that had tried to expand the program.

In a hearing at the federal courthouse in Newark today, Judge Esther Salas told the Natural Resources Defense Council, a nonprofit group suing the city over elevated lead levels, that she would deny all of the requests in the emergency motion.

The NRDC filed the emergency motion on Dec. 8, and had sought to force the city to expand its filter handout program to apply to residents in all parts of the city. Currently, residents living in the East Ward are not eligible to receive the filters.

The East Ward gets its water from the Wanaque treatment plant, which does not have the same corrosion control problems that plague operations at the Pequannock treatment plant which serves the rest of the city.

“We are pleased that the court agreed with Newark that the NRDC has not proven the need for an emergency injunction and has not presented credible evidence that a problem exists with corrosion control in our Wanaque water system,” said Kenyatta Stewart, a corporation counsel for the city.

The corrosion control treatment process at the Pequannock plant has contributed to elevated levels of lead in taps around Newark. When proper corrosion controls are not in place, water that flows through lead pipes and fixtures can eat away at the infrastructure, in turn causing lead to leach into the water.

The city is currently working under an Administrative Consent Order from the state to replace private lead service lines. Newark is still rolling out a $75 million program to replace 18,000 lead service lines. Contracts for the first round of construction have not been finalized; construction is expected to start next year.

Newark’s water department has been handing out water filters to affected residents as the work is being done. Since October, the city has distributed nearly 21,000 filters to residents. Newark spent $1.6 million to purchase 20,000 filters; an additional 20,000 were donated.

In filing the emergency motion and asking for the filter handout program to be expanded, the NRDC argued that mixing of water between the Pequannock and Wanaque systems had placed homes with lead pipes and fixtures in the East Ward at risk.

“We went to court today to call attention to the citywide problem of lead exposure in Newark,” said Claire Woods, an attorney with the NRDC. "Our purpose is to ensure that everyone has access to safe drinking water and that the City of Newark prioritizes the health and well-being of its residents. We’ll continue to fight for safe water.”

The city has not yet applied for a state permit to begin a new method of corrosion control at the Pequannock plant. The application is being prepared and approval is expected in January so the new treatment site will be operational in March, according to Kareem Adeem, the acting director of Newark’s Department of Water and Sewer Utilities. The new corrosion treatment is expected to take 6 to 8 months to take effect.